How Pope Francis united a once-skeptical Church with climate action

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🗞️ Driving the news: Pope Francis, through his landmark 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’, reshaped the Catholic Church’s approach to climate action, connecting environmental stewardship directly with Catholic teachings
• His sustained advocacy elevated climate change from a peripheral concern to a core issue within the Church, culminating in Vatican City joining the UN’s climate framework in 2022 and calls for binding action at COP28

🔭 The context: Historically, while popes occasionally addressed environmental issues, no pontiff prioritized climate change with the urgency Pope Francis did
• Drawing from his experiences in the impoverished slums of Buenos Aires, he connected environmental degradation to systemic injustice, criticizing overconsumption and the disproportionate impact of climate change on the world’s poorest populations

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: By framing ecological care as a moral and spiritual duty, Pope Francis helped integrate environmentalism into faith-based action worldwide, influencing millions beyond the Catholic community
• His efforts also pressured governments and corporations to adopt more sustainable practices, although gaps remain, particularly in Catholic institutional divestment from fossil fuels and asset greening

⏭️ What's next: The movement Pope Francis ignited is expected to persist beyond his papacy, with faith-based environmental activism likely to grow
• Catholic institutions face ongoing pressure to align their financial and operational practices with sustainability goals, and the Church’s influence could significantly shape global environmental justice narratives in the years ahead

💬 One quote: "Part of his legacy is that he’s ignited a movement of people around the globe, who now embrace care for creation as part of their faith," — Christina Leaño, associate director of the Laudato Si’ Movement

📈 One stat: The richest countries’ per capita emissions are significantly higher than those of the poorest 50% of the world population, a disparity Pope Francis repeatedly highlighted to underscore environmental injustice

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